Judges 21:3
in Judges 21“Why, O LORD God of Israel,” they cried out, “has this happened in Israel? Today in Israel one tribe is missing!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel?
KJV
And said, O Lord God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?
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This verse in Judges 21
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The repetition of the name of Israel is very striking in connection with the title of Yahweh as “God of Israel.” It contains a very forcible pleading of the covenant, and memorial of the promises. The very name “Israel” comprehended all the twelve tribes; with one of them blotted out, the remnant would not be Israel.
This site's exposition
the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah
on Judges 21:1-3
The oath is reported here for the first time, though it was sworn at the muster of 20:1 at Mizpah. Israel asks why “one tribe is missing”, treating the loss as an event and passing over what its own army did in chapter 20. They weep at Bethel, where 20:27 and 20:28 put the ark and Phinehas son of Eleazar, whose name sets these chapters early in the period.
This site's exposition
Today in Israel one tribe is missing!
The people cried to the LORD God of Israel over a missing tribe. Barnes hears an appeal to the covenant in the repeated name Israel, which meant all twelve tribes. Clarke answers that their revenge went too far.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The end of the war was also the end of their wrath, and anger turned to sorrow. Then, putting off their armor, the men of Israel met together and wept much and celebrated a fast, grieving that one tribe of their brothers had perished and a strong band of people had been wiped out.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And said, O Lord God of Israel,....
Every thing that grieves us should bring us to God. (2.) By their amicable treaty with the poor distressed refugees that were hidden in the rock Rimmon, to whom they sent an act of indemnity, assuring them, upon the public faith, that they would now no longer treat them as enemies, but receive them as brethren,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
There is no previous record of this oath; but the purport of it was, that they would treat the perpetrators of this Gibeah atrocity in the same way as the Canaanites, who were doomed to destruction; and the entering into this solemn league was of a piece with the rest of their inconsiderate conduct in this whole affair.
Why is this come to pass - This was a very impertinent question. They knew well enough how it came to pass. It was right that the men of Gibeah should be punished, and it was right that they who vindicated them should share in that punishment; but they carried their revenge too far, they endeavored to exterminate both man and beast, Jdg 20:48.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָמָ֗ה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֣י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הָ֥יְתָה | hayetah | has it happened | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| זֹּ֖את | zot | this [thing] | H2063 → | 603 times |
| בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | beyisrael | in Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לְהִפָּקֵ֥ד | lehipaked | to be missing | H6485 → | 303 times |
| הַיּ֛וֹם | haiyom | this day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | miyisrael | from Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| שֵׁ֥בֶט | shevet | a tribe | H7626 → | 190 times |
| אֶחָֽד׃ | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
לָמָ֗ה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
יְהוָה֙O Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הָ֥יְתָהhas it happened
hayetahH1961 →3559 times
זֹּ֖אתthis [thing]
zotH2063 →603 times
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑לin Israel
beyisraelH3478 →2507 times
לְהִפָּקֵ֥דto be missing
lehipakedH6485 →303 times
הַיּ֛וֹםthis day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֖לfrom Israel
miyisraelH3478 →2507 times
שֵׁ֥בֶטa tribe
shevetH7626 →190 times
אֶחָֽד׃one
ʾechadH259 →971 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 12:1Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live…
it leads to
- Malachi 3:15
So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only do evildoers prosper, they even test God and escape.’”
- Psalms 92:7
that though the wicked sprout like grass, and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.
- Psalms 37:1
Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong.
- Psalms 73:3–28
For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
- Psalms 51:4
Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge.
- Malachi 3:15
Through
Psalms 74:1Why have You rejected us forever, O God? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture?
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 29:20
The LORD will never be willing to forgive him. Instead, His anger and jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse written in this book will fall upon him. The LORD will blot…
- Psalms 100:3
Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
- Deuteronomy 29:20
Through
Psalms 80:12Why have You broken down its walls, so that all who pass by pick its fruit?
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:5
Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will…
- Isaiah 5:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Ambrose of Milan, LETTER 33; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.